Thursday, March 19, 2009

Helping the Homeless: March 30-April 3, 2009


HELPING THE HOMELESS: MARCH 30-APRIL 3, 2009


The Week of March 30- April 3 the Undergraduate Academies will be urging its students to focus their efforts on helping the homeless. During the week the Academies will be traveling to PUSH Buffalo for a screening of the movie This is what Democracy Looks Like.

PUSH Buffalo (People United for Sustainable Housing) is a local grassroots, non-profit organization that is working to rebuild the West Side of Buffalo. They organize community residents to confront institutions that perpetuate poverty and take action to improve the neighborhood. Organizations like these take a proactive approach to ending poverty and put people in desirable homes that they can afford. PUSH is one example of a community organization that fights poverty. Others include local soup kitchens or even faith based organizations.

YouTube: Voices of the Homeless

Youth from different parts of New York City traverse the sidewalks of Chinatown. What unfolds are several personal stories of how these men's lives and circumstances lead to homelessness. This film was was created through PRO-TV, DCTV's youth media arts training program, as part of the TV High curriculum.

2007 News Brief on Homeless Veterans:

Statistic: 1 in 3 Homeless Men are Veterans



POVERTY IN BUFFALO AND WNY

The Poverty Challenge: WNYHomeless.org

By Charity Vogel NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 05/05/08 8:00 AM

“Nine dollars. One quarter. That’s what it looks like up close, this horrible,
hydra-headed beast called poverty that casts its malevolent shadow over Western New
York.

Nine dollars. One quarter.

Wake up in the morning with that much money to last a whole day, and you’ll quickly
realize how far it doesn’t go.

It’s not even three gallons of gas.

It’s not enough to feed a family on fast food.

It’s not enough for a pair of kids’ shoes at Target.

It’s the bread and the milk and maybe the lunch meat, but not the strawberries or the
cottage cheese or the vitamins.

Yet in Western New York, that $9.25 figure is the harsh reality that many people ….” Read more at: http://www.wnyhomeless.org/sitepages/publications/education/Charity_Vogel_Column.pdf

WBFO Reports on the Experiences of the Poverty Challenge Participants:

HERE ARE SOME WAYS YOU CAN HELP AND THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

Below are some federal programs and organizations that are focused on helping the homeless.

WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE LOCALLY?

Here are some Local Organizations that Help the Homeless:
• Homeless Alliance of Western New York
• Hearts for the Homeless: Mobile Soup Kitchen (Tonawanda, NY)
• Western New York Veteran’s Housing Coalition (Buffalo, NY)
• Friends of the Night People

And many other local churches and community centers.

Other Suggestions:

Help The Homeless Apply For Aid - Governmental aid is available for homeless people, but many may not know where to find it or how to apply. Since they don't have a mailing address, governmental agencies may not be able to reach them. You can help by directing the homeless to intermediaries, such as homeless organizations, that let them know what aid is available and help them to apply for it. If you want to be an advocate or intermediary for the homeless yourself, you can contact these organizations as well.

Give Money - One of the most direct ways to aid the homeless is to give money. Donations to nonprofit organizations that serve the homeless go a long way. Find one that's right for you in our Homeless category.

Too often, well intended gifts are converted to drugs or alcohol - even when the "hard luck" stories they tell are true. If the person is hungry, buy them a sandwich and a beverage.
Taking time to talk to a homeless person in a friendly, respectful manner can give them a wonderful sense of civility and dignity. And besides being just neighborly, it gives the person a weapon to fight the isolation, depression and paranoia that many homeless people face. However, some living on the streets are criminals and fugitives running from the law. Always be prudent while talking with street people. Stay in areas where other people can see you. Don't take unnecessary chances.

Push For State Homelessness Prevention Programs - While states routinely supply aid for the poor and homeless, many do not have programs that provide funds and other services to those who will lose their homes in the immediate future unless something is done. Homelessness comes at great financial and human cost to the families who are evicted or foreclosed.
Volunteer At A Shelter - Shelters thrive on the work of volunteers, from those who sign people in, to those who serve meals, to others who counsel the homeless on where to get social services. For the homeless, a shelter can be as little as a place to sleep out of the rain or as much as a step forward to self-sufficiency.

Volunteer At A Soup Kitchen - Soup Kitchens provide one of the basics of life, nourishing meals for the homeless and other disadvantaged members of the community. Volunteers generally do much of the work, including picking up donations of food, preparing meals, serving it, and cleaning up afterward. To volunteer your services, contact your local soup kitchen, mobile food program, shelter, or religious center.

Here are some facts that may surprise you about people who are homeless.

Why Are People Homeless….An interesting report by the National Coalition for the Homeless outlines the factors and reasons that create homelessness including poverty, eroding working opportunities, decline in public assistance, and substance abuse. The full article is at http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/why.html

RELATED MAJORS AT UB:

To help the homeless it is not necessary to pursue any particular major. Helping the homeless and volunteering is not discipline specific. It just takes some motivation and a desire to help people. Perhaps more important than any degree, certification or accreditation would be enthusiasm and a desire to help people.

There are a few select majors that tend to be involved with issues surrounding homelessness. Those include :

• Sociology
• Psychology
• Political Science
• Anthropology
• Social work
• Geography
• Counseling
• Communication
• Economics

That is not to say that these professions and majors are better at helping, it only means that the subject matter they cover can bring them more into contact with homelessness and studying factors that contribute to it.

GROUPS AT UB WHERE YOU CAN BE INVOLVED AS A VOLUNTEER IN THE COMMUNITY:

Circle K
Community Action Corps
Urban Renewal
Undergraduate Academies- Civic Engagement Academy
Volunteer with the Center for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement (http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/leadership/service.php)

For more information on these clubs and who to contact to get involved, please visit: http://clubs.buffalosa.org/
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